Advanced Fusion
by JanManJane
Summary: Something surprising happens in the groups last palace infiltration that stirs up emotions in Makoto she didn't even realize she had, both positive and negative. But friends always help each other.
1. Rising 1

Makoto was walking down the road with no real destination in mind. She had been taking more of these aimless walks lately trying to clear her mind, when the troubling thoughts started up. Viewing the city and distracting herself at cafes, movie theaters, and stores. But she couldn't get the images out of her head.

The Medjed threat was over, Futaba had woken up and helped them in the nick of time. That was good, a cause for celebration. What troubled Makoto was something more complicated. Something that had stirred up emotions that had completely surprised her.

During the final battle with Futaba's distorted image of her mother, it happened.

* * *

"Aim the tip at it!" Futaba shouted.

Makoto was aiming the ballista Futaba had conjured, what they had used to shoot down her fake mother. But after the initial shot, her mother had gotten even faster and more maneuverable. It was taking evasive action, essentially.

"It's going too fast! It keeps changing directions too quickly when I think I have it!" Makoto said.

The shadow flew in close, drawing a variety of attacks from everyone present, then quickly dove to the side launching a blast of wind that physically impacted everyone. A ranged attack that was surprisingly strong.

"What do we do, Joker!?" said Mona, his persona casting a healing wave to everyone.

Makoto looked at him, their leader. The one who always seemed to have the answer. He was calm. When they entered a palace and donned their Phantom Thief looks, they all changed a bit. Acting different, different parts of them emphasized in the distorted reality.

Not much different, but enough to notice. Outside Joker was Ren, a kindhearted boy with a strong core of justice tempered by his own hardships. He was reliable, witty, and empathetic. In the Palace, he was still all of that. But his persona changed to that of a master thief. He adapted to this distorted world easier than the others. Everyone looked to him, because he seemed to be the one that could take any situation and pull through as if it was no big deal.

After a moment of silence he responded, "...she's frustrated."

"What?" Skull said.

"She's a predator, that's the role she has in this palace. An angry one, that blames Futaba. She probably would love nothing more than to come in and personally claw us to bits. But she can't. Not after we grounded her and unloaded on her. That experience has forced her to be cautious. And she hates it, taking these small potshots at us that we can heal from easily."

"So we wait for her to get impatient?" Panther said.

"No, predators are patient as a matter of rule. But it's easier to predict her because of that frustration. All we have to do is trick her, like always. Like phantom thieves, we'll pull the wool over her eyes and let her get close. Here's what we'll do..."

Once again, a flawless plan that would get past our targets defenses. He was amazing.

The deadly sphinx, Wakaba, came in for another 'pot shot'. It came in quickly, a dive that seemed physically impossible to stop. But we weren't in the real world. It easily, like a small bird, canceled the dive. Like it was as light as feather, it changed direction twice, thrice, four times. Swooping around the palace it bombarded them with wind attacks while changing direction in impossible maneuvers. Each one causing the roof of the pyramid to crack and throw up debris and dust.

Suddenly it launched. From the cloud of dust, a huge arrowhead shot out. It was low, too low. It took a pathetic, drooping arc before landing in the sands below.

Wakaba divedin once again as soon as it saw that the ballista shot missed. Before the Phantom Thieves could load the next shot, it would end them. It drew it's wings back, flying even faster than before.

Blasts of all elements flew out of the debris cloud, hitting Wakaba. They hurt, but not much. And they couldn't ground her like the ballista. It was over.

But they blocked her view. Just enough that she couldn't avoid it. The true ballista shot, which flew straight, right into her chest.

She fell for it. Taking a ballista shot, and throwing it with their persona's while hidden by the dust, making the sphinx believe they had shot it from the ballista. But the ballista was still loaded. And while everyone else blinded Wakaba, Makoto had aimed and shot it perfectly.

Yes, perfectly. But the plan wasn't as flawless as they hoped. Because after being shot, the sphinx kept flying in the same direction it was already going. Straight for them.

Even while dying, it would have its blood.

The impact was massive, and everything that happened afterwards was chaos. Everyone flew through the air as the roof of the pyramid was shattered.

It was terrifying, until Makoto was suddenly grabbed. She was confused for a split second before remembering they had just found a new friend. One that could fly.

"I've got you everyone!" Futaba shouted.

Makoto looked around to see everyone had been grabbed by the mechanical tentacles of Futaba's persona.

She was relieved...until she realized they were still falling.

"Can't hold everyone while still floating! I'm slowing us down! Get ready for a crash landing!"

It definitely hurt less than what would've happened if she wasn't there, but it wasn't pleasant at all.

Her leather body suit protected her from scrapes that hitting the sand this hard would cause, and the sands looseness also helped reduce the impact. She still hit it hard enough to bounce and roll three times before sliding to a stop.

She stayed still for long seconds while huffing for breath. She heard pained sounds around, her friends. And then...

"Ren! Ren!" Panther yelled.

Anne.

Ren.

Makoto got up quickly and regretted it. The sharp pain that followed was excruciating, but she pushed through. She had to see what was happening.

If he was...Makoto couldn't even finish the thought without noticing some wetness at here eyes. The pain had made her tear up. Probably.

She shakily crawled over to where she heard Anne before, over a nearby small dune.

She made it in time to see Anne use her persona. A green glow enveloped Ren. The brief moment Makoto saw of his injuries before they were erased gripped her own heart and threatened to take it out of her chest.

A few seconds later, he was fine.

"Thank god..." Makoto silently whispered.

No one heard her. Her tears flowed down her cheeks, for happier reasons than before.

And so were Anne's.

"Are you...are you ok? Please say you're ok? Please..."

His gloved hand reached up and gripped her shoulder.

"...Anne. It's alright...thank you." He said. Calm and collected, even after that.

"You could've...you almost..." Anne said. She couldn't finish a sentence without her face scrunching up. Holding back more tears.

"Not the smartest plan huh?"

"You...idiot..."

Anne's face became a hush on the second word. She then wordlessly brought her face down.

And kissed him.

Makoto couldn't believe it. Her heart was gripped again, in a way she never expected or predicted.

"Oh, shit, that hurts!" Skull yelled over another nearby dune.

"Thank you very much for the healing Morgana. That was a close one." Fox said in the same general location.

Makoto had looked over in their direction when she heard their voices. When she turned her head back to the two in front of her, she met their eyes.

Ren and Anne were looking at her, surprised. She was sure she had the same look on her own face.

Then Futaba appeared above them.

"They're over here! They look fine, though Makoto looks a bit worn out."

"Oh, crap, sorry! Let me!" Anne said and rushed over to heal her.

Skull, Fox, and Mona made their way through the sand to meet them.

"That was rough, but we made out in one piece." Skull said.

"Yeah, we probably should've thought that through a bit more. Hehe." Mona said.

Ren scratched the back of his head while cringing.

"Not to worry. We've succeeded in our goal. As they say, 'all is well that ends well'. " Fox said.

* * *

After that they had made their way out of the palace. Futaba had used up all of her strength and slept for a long while. And here we were. No pressing matters, no problems. Everything had reached an amiable conclusion.

But even now, Makoto couldn't shake the image out her head. Anne and Ren, in the sand. That heartfelt moment. In that moment, Makoto couldn't help but think things.

Mostly things like, "had they done that before."

She felt a pang of emotion every time she imagined that those two had secretly come together so intimately without her ever realizing. Only after that had she realized how deep her own feelings for Ren were, but the event meant it was too late.

She had only just realized she was in a race as everyone else crossed the finishing line.

She had never felt like this before, and it was frustrating.

Makoto didn't hold anything against the two of course. Anne and Ren were some of her first true friends. She felt close to both of them, and the rest of the group. They all wanted the best for each other. The fact that she really wanted both of them to be happy made her more frustrated at her own frustration.

She wished she could just let it go and support them, but her heart had other plans for her. Makoto let out a sigh, one of many throughout the last week or so.

"Makoto!" she heard behind her.

Surprised, Makoto blinked and turned around. And then she was surprised even more to see who it was.

"Hey, Makoto. Wait up a bit." Anne said.

Anne strolled over to Makoto, a slight small on her face.

"Hi, Anne. I was taking a walk. I didn't expect to run into you."

"I'm glad I found you. Umm, there's something I've been meaning to talk to you about..."

Makoto's eyebrows raised slightly.

_She can't mean..._

Makoto noticed a slight hint of pink on Anne's face. Anne took a bit, looking around, seemingly distracted, before biting her lip. Then she looked straight at Makoto with a serious expression on her face.

"What happened in Futaba's palace after we fell off the roof...The...Kiss."

Makoto's mouth opened and closed, with not a a sound coming out. Thinking of and abandoning possible responses. She eventually decided on what to say.

"Anne...I don't really know how to put this. I'm...glad."

"Glad?"

"Yes. I was surprised at first, but thinking about it, it makes sense. I'm happy that both of you found the person you care for most. I hope you make each other happy, you both deserve it. I'll...I'll be cheering you on." Makoto said with a smile.

The negative feelings in Makoto were pushed aside. She truly wished the best for both of them. She hated the jealousy she felt, and was determined to let it die in a remote corner of her mind. Makoto knew that in time she would get over it.

She loved Ren, she decided. And Anne was one of her best friends. Makoto would support them fully.

"Makoto...we...we're not going out. If that's what you're thinking." Anne said warily.

"What? Really?"

_Wait, what?_

"Umm, so...I got really emotional seeing Ren like that, and, like, I've basically had these feelings for a while without realizing, and, and well...I got caught up in my relief and...kissed him. I think I was just as surprised as him. And you."

Anne became increasingly redder as she spoke, looking away out of embarrassment. Makoto was at a loss for words. Anne was just like her, her feelings solidified in that moment.

Which meant they weren't going out. Makoto could still...the thought died quickly. She still couldn't. Anne had been through so much. She deserved to be happy. To be loved.

And other than that, how could Makoto compete with her. Makoto resigned herself once more.

"I see. Then...I commend how bold you are, haha. I don't know if I could do the same. If you ask him out formally, there's no way he'll say no, Anne." Makoto said with a giggle.

Anne's eyebrows knit together slightly. She bit her lip again.

"Makoto. Umm...do you like Ren too?"

Anne's words shocked Makoto to her very heart. Her mouth gaped as she stared at Anne.

_Anne, you're amazing. I really could never compete with you._

"That's...No. No, Anne. Don't worry about me. I don't see Ren like that. He's...he's all yours, haha." Makoto replied.

The last part was meant as a joke to lighten the mood. But it sounded unnatural even to herself.

"Makoto...I, umm...don't believe you."

She flinched at the easy dismissal of her excuse.

"Makoto, it's fine if you do. Really, please tell me. I would feel awful if you felt you had to lie to me about something like that. We're close enough to talk about our feelings and secrets." Anne pressed.

Makoto could feel her heart beating in her chest. She had been ruminating on her feelings all these days and trying to bury them away so she wouldn't hurt herself or her friends.

But Anne was right. They were comrades. They had shared life and death moments in the palaces. If she couldn't trust her precious friends, who else could she?

She felt a new emotion in her heart, shame. Her lips pressed together. The words wouldn't leave her mouth, so several seconds later she forced her head to nod. Makoto didn't look up to see Anne's reaction. All she could do was look at her feet.

This allowed Anne to sneak up and hit her with a surprise attack, a hug.

Makoto's hands moved but she didn't know what to do with them. So they just stayed raised, fingers twitching, for a few seconds before lowering again.

"I'm sorry." Anne whispered.

Her hug tightened. Makoto felt tears start to well up in her eyes, and she hugged her back.

"Don't be." She said. A whimper escaped her mouth. "It's no ones fault, after all."

"You're right. But I can still be sorry that you have to feel that way. I can't imagine what's it been like these last few days, you must've been heart broken. I...don't want you to feel like that Makoto. Not one bit."

Makoto's hands gripped Anne's shirt.

"Haven't you learned anything being with us? Sometimes you can't go it alone. We should've talked earlier." Anne continued.

Makoto nodded her head, which was pressed into Anne's shoulder.

After a minute they broke the hug, a funny smile on Makoto's red and tear stained face.

"Let's...let's get some ice cream and talk it through all the way, ok?" Anne asked.

Makoto could only nod.


	2. Rising 2

Anne had just gotten home after the group had successfully stolen Futaba's treasure.

Anne's legs kicked as she shoved her face into the pillow of her bed. The sheer embarrassment she felt needing a physical release after being pent up the last several hours as they escaped the palace and everyone went home.

_I can't believe I did that! Oh my god!_

_Ahhh!_

This lasted a bit longer than Anne would like to admit, but eventually she settled down. Looking up at her ceiling, she started thinking out loud. After all, there was no one else in the home but her.

"Okay, just keep it together Anne. You've been working on strengthening your heart. You can handle this. Totally. Just remember everything you've been doing...with...Ren…"

Remembering all the 'heart strengthening' exercises with Ren caused her face to turn a nice shade of pink. She flipped back onto her stomach, and began kicking her legs and shoving her face into the pillow again.

"Ahhhh!" she said, muffled through her pillow.

"_So basically, I want you to say stuff to me, and I'll try not to get fazed by it!"_

"_I love you." he said, fazing her._

"Ahhhhh!" she said, louder.

Instead of petering out like before, at some point Anne suddenly stopped and violently flipped over. Her face was scrunched up.

"Well, he said it first! So it's fine! He basically implicitly agreed to this, right?" she argued to her ceiling. "He has no reason to not...love me back! Yeah, this is fine. It's fine."

She nodded to herself while still staring at her ceiling for several seconds, reassuring herself. Then she stopped.

"Wait, what about Makoto? Ahhh! What is she going to think? What if she tells everyone else?"

Anne had no particular issues with other people knowing about her being in a relationship. She had already hardened her heart to what other people thought about her life. And besides that, the others in the group weren't regular people. They were her closest friends beside Shiho, she could trust them not to judge her or anything like that.

But she still wasn't even sure she would be in a relationship with Ren! She said all that stuff about him already agreeing, but that was all bluster. She had no idea if he was fine with it, when it came down to it she just randomly kissed him out of the blue. And then they didn't talk at all afterwards!

Anne had no idea what was going to happen. If Makoto told the others they would wonder and maybe ask. And the thought of everyone knowing about it and wondering when she was agonizing over what would happen herself made her feel incredibly conflicted.

Ughhhh.

She needed to talk to Ren as soon as possible. She reached over to her phone and began typing a message.

_We need to talk about what happened at-_

No, Anne decided, that's too vague and formal. Also urgent, maybe? The word 'need' might be a bit much.

_Let's talk about what happened after we fell from the pyramid last palace!_

No, no, it sounds too excited. It hasn't even been a day.

_Do you want to talk about what happened at the palace-_

No, what if he said no! She didn't think he would, but what if he did! Uhh…

_Hey, when are you free? I want to talk about the ki-_

Typing out 'kiss' made her stop out of passive embarrassment for a second.

"Maybe I should wait a bit. Give him a day or two to think things through. Yeah, that migh-Oh, shit! He can see that I'm typing!"

She quickly erased the message without sending and closed the app. Her heart was beating rapidly at the possibility that he was on his phone and seeing her typing out draft after draft.

Anne told herself that it didn't matter. Her heart was strong enough to take this.

Well, it still hurt though, not in a painful way. She resisted shoving her face into the pillow again.

"Ahh, I wish I didn't care this much about what he thought! I thought I didn't have this problem anymore? Why'd he have to break through my shell, ughhh."

A second passed. She blushed and turned onto her side.

"...I'm glad he did though." She whispered.

Anne ruminated for long minutes. Eventually she came to a decision.

"I'll give it a bit. For his sake, really. Then the next time I see him, I'll take him aside and properly tell him my feelings. No vagueness. Straight up. That's that."

There, everything was clear. Well, except Makoto.

She remembered the scene in her head. She hadn't thought too much about it before because she was lost in thought after the...incident, but on second thought wasn't Makoto's reaction a bit weird?

How long had she been there looking at them? She was pretty badly hurt, but drew no attention to herself. And afterwards she was basically speechless the entire time. The only thing she said was goodbye when the group split up.

Pondering it, Anne could almost swear that Makoto was just as shocked as...herself.

Wait a second.

Hadn't the two been spending a lot of time together lately too?

Hmm.

"I...should talk to Makoto before Ren. Mostly to tell her to keep it a secret for a bit, until Ren and me talk. But also, just in case...yeah."

Anne looked at her phone and remembered what happened a few moments ago.

"I'll find her and talk to her in person. That's better than texting. Definitely."

* * *

The situation had become a bit more complicated. Anne saw it clear as day after talking to Makoto.

She was definitely interested in Ren. It became more and more obvious throughout the conversation. Makoto's obvious lies while denying it to her made Anne more and more sad, until she forced her to admit it.

She could only imagine how she felt. In a way, Makoto was isolated like Anne a bit. Isolated more by authority and societal preconceptions. She was used by the principal and held to strict standards by him and her sister. Everyone else at the school drew unfortunate conclusions about her from that. Makoto didn't seem to be close to anyone before joining the Phantom Thieves.

In a way, she was like Anne, but to Anne the most immediate connection she made was Shiho. A friend in need who was suffering. Makoto must never have been in a situation like this before (well, neither had Anne) and she was forcing herself not to admit it. She was going to give up on her first love just like that and quietly give up.

It gripped Anne's heart thinking about Makoto plastering a fake smile on her face and supporting her despite what she felt. It was too much, she couldn't let it go like that once she discovered the truth.

It hadn't been that long by most standards, but Anne realized she felt surprisingly close to Makoto after everything they've been through. They essentially put their lives on the line every time they went to a palace or Mementos. And Makoto, when they fell, could easily have…

Anne shivered at the thought.

_No_, she decided. _I'm not letting it go like that._

She didn't know exactly what to do, but she was going to have a long conversation with Makoto.

* * *

They reached a nearby ice cream store, It had a logo made of three ice cream cones with different colors of scoops in them. It was almost empty, only one person eating by himself inside the store. There was an outside area with seats and tables.

They came inside and ordered. Anne got a large scoop of coffee flavored ice cream in a cup with a spoon. Makoto got a small scoop of vanilla.

They took seats opposite of each other in the outside area. It was away from the employees and stranger inside, and the street was empty. There was more privacy outside.

Makoto and Anne looked down at their sweets while they put small spoonfuls into their mouths. Neither was quite sure what to say, it seemed.

_Okay, I can do this. I've got this. I'm not letting one of my friends get hurt! I've got this!_

Anne thought of her favorite anime villainess. The confidence and tenacity she displayed that Anne had admired. The one she, somewhat unconsciously, attempted to imitate when they infiltrated a palace. The state of mind putting on that ridiculous cat outfit put her in.

She put on a serious face and looked at Makoto who was still looking down at her ice cream. Makoto looked more embarrassed than crestfallen, which was good.

"Makoto, I wanted to, umm, start by saying we should both be honest with each other here. No hiding anything. When it gets down to it...I've never really thought about it or put it into words, but...I trust you with my life in the palaces."

Makoto's head snapped up at hearing that and she looked at Anne with wide eyes.

"Anne...I...me too! I trust you too! I don't want to give the impression that I don't. I sincerely apologize if you thought me hiding my feelings meant-"

"Oh, no, no, that's not what I meant! I just wanted you to know, you know? Like, just as a basis for what else we talk about." Anne hurried to interrupt the possible misconception.

"Of course! Definitely. I'm glad we see eye to eye on that." Makoto said. Her eyes were moving quickly from left to right as she looked down, and her fingers were fidgeting in her lap.

_Just making her more nervous, ugh. I acted all in control earlier but I have no idea what I'm doing. I'll just...wing it. Whatever. Here goes._

"Makoto, I...um, guess I'll just let you know how I'm feeling and we can go from there." She said.

Makoto looked at her and nodded softly.

"My first ever real friend was Shiho, she was the only that ever treated me like just a regular person. I never felt…'different' with her. And after what happened with Kamoshida...it was agonizing, you know? I didn't really see a happy ending in my future at that point."

Anne swallowed past a lump in her throat. She took a few seconds to eat a bit more ice cream, the delicious cold sensation anchoring her.

"But then I met Ryuuji, Morgana...well he just looked like a regular cat at the very beginning, but yeah. And Ren. They all helped me get justice for Shiho. I'm definitely grateful to everyone for helping me. But there was something there I didn't notice until later. Something that built up every mission we went on."

She ate a bit more ice cream, while trying to imagine the words that would fit her feelings.

"Admiration." She settled on.

"You're a bit new, but you've noticed that Ren is sort of the leader. There's no real story behind it, he just naturally slotted into that role since the beginning. He just felt...reliable. Since the start. He seems like he's always taking his time and thinking things through. Though in his Joker clothes, it looks more like he's scheming hehe." She giggled a bit.

Anne looked up for just a moment to see Makoto's face. She was listening attentively, with an incredibly slight smile on her face. Anne gave a melancholy smile back and looked away again. It was easier to talk if she didn't look into her eyes.

_I need to train my heart to be a bit more stronger._

"When I found out about what happened to him, it made sense. His life was ruined from one small moment of injustice. It's only natural to be cautious after that, right? But even despite that, despite having his life nearly ruined from just trying to help an innocent person...he's still going with us to palaces. Not only that, he's honestly a big driving force for the whole group. Well Ryuuji and Morgana too, but in different ways."

She continued, "He's a bit like me. Like all of us, in a way. But it's like he naturally brings us together. I couldn't help but admire him more and more as we kept going. That's why, eventually I came to him for help. I didn't want to talk to Shiho much about my problems when she was dealing with her own huge problems while hospitalized. And I wanted to be stronger for Shiho too, to be her rock. So I just sort of naturally came to him for advice. After a while I realized the reason he was so helpful was because...he had become my rock, without me ever really realizing."

Her lips quivered just a bit before she bit them to stop. She couldn't look at Makoto, not just yet. She had to keep the momentum going. Just finish talking.

"I...knew the palaces were dangerous. That the worst could happen. But seeing him like that, in Futaba's palace...the thought of him being gone pulled at my heart. I hadn't even realized how much space he had taken up there until then. It reminded me of when I thought Shiho might be gone. When she...yeah. And at that moment, I also realized all the things I wanted to do, that might never happen if he disappeared. I didn't want anymore regrets in my life. I don't want anymore. And that's why I kissed him. And that's why I'm talking to you too, Makoto. Because you're important too."

There, she had said everything in her. Some of it only coming to her just then, floating in her head as a vague cloud until it crystallized during the monologue. Going through it like that allowed her to see the obvious conclusions she didn't before, and put them into words.

With that she took a deep breath and held it for several seconds, before letting it go as a prolonged sigh. She leaned back and grabbed her ice cream, bringing it closer to her mouth. Spoonful after spoonful made its way into her mouth slowly. Her eyes raised higher with each one, eventually settling back onto the black haired girl in front of her.

Funnily enough, Makoto was putting her empty cup down. It was a small after all, they went pretty quickly. Anne checked out her large cup for a second and saw that that it was halfway done.

_Man, I tear through sweets too fast._

The ordinary thought was comforting, along with the sweet treat itself. It lightened her mood a bit.

"Anne...I didn't know you felt that way." Makoto said, fingers slowly fidgeting in her lap again without something to hold. "You're amazing…"

"...I'm not that great, ha."

"No, really. I can't help but admire you, I don't know if I could be confident enough to say all that. But now that you did...I think I can gather some courage from your example."

She got a look of determination to her. Anne didn't really know why, but a thought popped into her head.

_She really is a student council president._

"You don't have to force yourself." Anne said.

"No, I don't. And I'm not. I just want to. You poured your heart out to me, and I'll do the same."

Makoto squared her shoulders, raised her chin, and began.


	3. Rising 3

Serendipity, is how Makoto would describe what just happened.

As Anne kept talking, baring her heart to Makoto, feelings and thoughts inflated in her head without her realizing. At some point they became too full and burst in her mind. Makoto searched for a word that could describe the jumble of happy feelings that now were occupying her mind.

And she decided on serendipity. Not just because of its meaning, but the feeling of the word in general. It was a word that sounded playful and was fun to say. As if any moment that you could use it would be a happy occasion.

She had felt incredibly lonely the last several days without really realizing it, and now that she was openly talking with Anne about their insecurities she felt a burden lift off of her. It was just like when she first joined the Phantom Thieves.

Discovering that there were other people like her, people she could share her problems with, people who would have her back. Not just have her best interests at heart, like her sister, but people that stuck by her and supported her. She had forgotten the feeling for a second. Stupid.

Hearing Anne's entire speech the happiness was tinged with a bit of bittersweet, but just a bit. Overall, it mostly just amazed her the sheer amount of similarities between them. It felt like Anne had stolen Makoto's own words out of her mouth at some points, despite the fact that Makoto hadn't even put her feelings into concrete words.

Well, it was time for her to figure out the rest of the words.

"I guess I'll start the same, from the beginning."

Makoto hesitated for a second. They say that the hardest part of doing something is starting. She had pushed herself into talking, buoyed by Anne's infectious sincerity. But now she still had to actually start talking.

And after that, she had to keep talking while trying to avoid being affected by more mental hurdles. Before the halfway point of a speech, the nerves caused from knowing how much more was left to say. Afterwards, the nerves caused by seeing the mistakes you made in the initial half from the beginning nerves.

She was used to public speaking, being the student president. Even being one that was somewhat hated by the other students, she could still do it. But she still faced the pressure of it.

It was harder at the beginning before it became routine. Her classmates dislike from the Kamoshida incident had been a paradigm shift that made it harder again recently.

But she always could fall back on the fact that she was talking about school related topics. They were speeches that were prepared, that she could ready herself for, practice. And they were not about her personally.

Now that she had to talk about her most personal feelings with no preparation, she was the most nervous she had ever been. The fact that Anne was the only person listening was both a blessing and a curse.

She almost reached for her ice cream cup to stall for a bit longer, but remembered it was empty.

It took one more second before she finally pushed through the hesitation.

"Well. I live with my sister, after my dad...died." she blurted out.

Anne's eyes widened.

_I...may have gone too personal there. I can't take it back though, I'll just have to push through._

"He was amazing. He instilled a sense of...I guess the word would be duty, in us. Sai became a prosecutor, and a really good one at that. But, if I had to admit, she became a bit too focused on it. I barely see her much lately. She's always focused on a case or a way to rise up in position.

"She cares about me a lot, really she does. But it takes the form of wanting me to go down a similar path as her. Not a prosecutor or similar, not like that. But a passionate, independent person who pulls herself up the ladder. She wants me to be successful, like her. I also wanted that. I could see how hard taking care of me by herself was on Sai. I wanted to become independent and stop being a burden."

Makoto stopped.

_Is this too much? I'm rambling. I should get to the point._

"Makoto, I never knew. That must've been so rough." Anne interrupted her train of thought.

She reached over and grabbed Makoto's hand.

Makoto blushed out of embarrassment. She was embarrassed at making the same dumb mistake as earlier.

_You can talk to your friends about your problems, that's what they're there for. That's just common sense huh?_

She let out a small amused noise.

"Thank you. It's funny, I actually told Ren all of this. I don't know why I felt so nervous talking about it with you."

"He has a way of sneaking past your defenses and grabbing your heart, huh?" Anne said.

Makoto looked at her in surprise, Anne doing the same. They giggled at the dumb joke.

"Why is he such a natural at being a phantom thief? It's not fair!" Anne said.

Makoto covered her mouth as she giggled a bit more. Then she wiped a small tear at the corner of her right eye. She wasn't quite sure when it had appeared.

"Yes, it is. After the bank, I felt bad for all the trouble I put Ren through. So I went to him to make amends. Be friendlier. And without me even realizing it, he became so close. I was pretty isolated for a while, focused on nothing but not burdening my sister. That's why I did everything told of me. Sai and eventually the principle. After the incident, while I was trying to make my way to relearning how to live my life for me, he was there. Like you said, he just seemed to naturally slot into that role."

Anne leaned in and cupped her hand over her mouth slightly, as if telling a secret. "You think that happens with every girl he meets?" she whispered.

Makoto's mouth opened in shock.

_That can't...no, could it be? It makes a frightening amount of sen_-

"I'm kidding!" Anne giggled at her serious expression.

Makoto shut her gaping mouth and cringed a bit. "...right, of course. That was obviously ridiculous. I would've seen it when I was spying on him anyway, that wouldn't have gotten past me."

"Spying?"

Makoto's eyes snapped to Anne's questioning expression. "Uhh, umm, yeah, so, um, umm-"

_Oh no, oh no, oh no. How am I going to explain I was stalking Ren at the principals request!? That's going to sound so suspicio_-

"Oh yeah, Ren told us about that!" Anne said.

Makoto's mouth opened in surprise again. "...what?"

"Yeah, he said he noticed you following him around. Said it was probably something the principal asked you to do, you seemed really uncomfortable and awkward."

Makoto's eyes widened and her eyebrows raised. Her hands rose to her mouth.

_He knew...the entire time, he knew I was looking!? Oh my god! He saw me stalking him entire time! Ahh!_

Makoto's face began to turn bright red.

"Haha, he said you were always pretending to read a book or something, and sometimes it was obviously upside down. It was too funny to be mad after he told us."

She shoved her face into her hands as hard as she could, a long, low groan escaping her fingers. She could feel the rising heat of her face on her hands.

Makoto felt Anne's hand petting her head.

"It's ok Makoto, you've gotten a lot better at stealth now, right?" Anne asked.

"Ughhh." Makoto repeated, louder.

"Haha, no, but seriously. Don't worry about it too much, ok? It's no big deal, really."

She spread her hands slightly, revealing a fraction of her beet red face. She looked at her friend who now knew her secrets. Even the one she wished she didn't. Ugh.

"...understood. I do regret doing it, just so you know."

"I can tell." Anne replied with a slight smirk.

Makoto took a moment to compose herself before fully revealing her face again.

"Well, it's not exactly how I was planning on going about it, but I think we understand each other's perspectives now. Honestly, I'm amazed how much of what you said was on my mind. So, now what?"

"Oh...well. I...didn't think that far ahead, hehe."

"...I see."

_I wasn't expecting that actually. Hmm..._

"It's fine though, right?" Anne said.

"What do you mean?"

"We already did the hard part, right?"

"Ah. Huh. True, a compromise between two people that understand each other and want the best for the other doesn't seem that difficult."

Anne pursed her lips and looked off to the side.

"What is it? Did I say something weird?"

Anne waved her hand at her casually, "No, no, nothing weird, just...I don't think it really applies here?"

Makoto tilted her head to the side and furrowed her brow.

"It's just that, you know, um...when I think of a compromise, it's like two people not getting exactly what they want, right?"

"I...I guess? Yes, that would be a formal meaning of it. Everyone giving up on part of what they want so they can make a deal."

"So…" Anne steepled her hands together in front of herself. She stared seriously at Makoto. "Why do we have to compromise at all?"

Makoto blinked. And then again.

"What do you mean?"

"Oh...well, uh..."

Anne looked away again. Her steepled hands began fidgeting, and then she started wringing them. Makoto was reminded of how she felt earlier, trying to find the words to say.

Anne made several false starts, almost saying something, turning redder as she did. And then she nodded to herself a couple of times and clenched her hands.

"Ok! So, well, it just sort of came to me while we were talking, so it's not like concrete or anything. But I was just thinking, you know, um...I'd be fine with you being with Ren."

Anne dropped a bombshell. Makoto worked to unpack the statement, her hands not sure of what to do, head making incremental movements in random directions periodically.

"Anne, Anne no. You don't have to give up on-"

"I'm not!" Anne interrupted.

Makoto stopped in her tracks, again. She looked at Anne, who had gotten redder. Her hands were clenched on the table and she was looking down. Her lips were pressed together into a thin line and her brow was furrowed. Makoto didn't know how to read the expression. So she thought about the words instead.

_She's fine with me being with Ren, but she won't give up on him. Does she mean…_

"So...you're saying we'll both go after him, and he can choose himself. That's...you're right, it's only fair. It makes sense, it's his choice who he likes after all. There's no point worrying about it, we can't control his heart. That's incredibly sensible Anne."

It made perfect sense, but it was somewhat disappointing. Makoto was sure Ren would choose to be with Anne. They knew each other longer after all. And even beyond that, Makoto couldn't really see what about herself was better than Anne. Looks, personality, experience, Makoto considered Anne better. She was a professional model, who could argue with that? And her classmates had mocked Makoto as being robotic and emotionless at times, while Anne was so expressive. And she obviously knew so much more about romance than Makoto. This conversation was proof of that.

In the end it felt like the conclusion was going to be much the same as before, but she felt much better about it. She wouldn't have to hide her feelings from her closest friends. Though now there was a growing sense of anxiety about how those revealed feelings would affect their relationships. There might some awkwardness after all.

There was also some worry on Makoto's part how she would feel knowing that her first love would be rejected and she'd have to see him in a relationship so often. But Makoto was no stranger to dealing with heartbreak, she believed in herself to handle it.

"What? No!" Anne exclaimed.

_What!?_

"Eh!?" Makoto said.

"Well, I mean, yes, that's true, it is his choice in the end. But that's not what I was getting at! I meant...I meant...uh." Anne flustered.

"You meant?"

"I mean, like, when we go and confess our...feelings...let's do it...together."

Anne had brought her hands up and was covering the lower part of her face. It looked like she wanted to cover her whole face but was stopping herself, so her hands were stuck there.

Anne continued, "And then, you know, like, he might not, uh, have to. Choose, I mean. You know."

Makoto tossed the words around in her head, letting them echo.

_Not have to choose. Not have to...choose. Between us._

_Uh._

_Uhhh._

_UHHHHHH_

"So...yeah! What do you think Makoto?"

"T-t-t-t-" Makoto stuttered.

"Huh?"

"T-that's illegal!" Makoto exclaimed.

"Huh!?" Anne said, leaning away.

_Huh!? Why did I say that! Wait, was it? Of all the legal trivia to pop into my head!_

"Wait, it is?" Anne said, leaning back in.

"P-p-p-polygamy is illegal in Japan!" Makoto said, beet red.

Her face was burning, her hands obsessively straightening out her skirt, and her back was straight while she looked at a random patch of road off to the side.

"Polygamy?" Anne said. "What? There's a word for that? No wait, how can that be illegal? No wait, that doesn't matter! We're already criminals. Well, uh, sort of. Not really, I guess. Uh…"

"Yes! It means marrying multiple p-p-partners. Illegal in more than a hundred countries." Makoto rambled, answering the least important question.

"Oh, so it's only illegal if a marriage happens." Anne noted.

"Eek!" Makoto squeaked.

_No! Wait, why no? Wait, what?_

Anne's proposal had sent Makoto's head spinning. She wasn't even sure what she should be feeling or what she was trying to say.

"Right, because marriage certificates and taxes and stuff, right? I guess I can see the sense, but it seems a bit overly controlling." Anne said conversationally, lost in the thought.

"That b-b-brings up an interesting problem of government oversight and how much is needed to keep order and stop potential crimes and problems. My sister Sai once said to me, actually, that-"

"Wait a second, who cares! What do you think of my proposal?" Anne said, breaking through Makoto's half thought ramblings.

"Uh, well, that is to say." Makoto coughed into her hand. "You see, the main point is, umm…"

It felt like Makoto's head was spinning. She had never really considered the thought before, it came completely from left field. She had no idea what to think of it.

On one hand, it sort of solves the problem. On the other...on the other hand was several tons of confused, tangled thoughts and feelings.

"I-I-I don't really know Anne. Um, you know, that sort of things isn't really…" Makoto floundered for a bit. " People would-"

"Does it really matter what other people think? I've stopped caring about that sort of thing a while ago. And we can just keep it a bit secret, like being Phantom Thieves. It's not like I'm completely sure of it or anything, either. It just seems like the best case scenario, right? Everyone's happy."

_Eh? Is it really that simple? What?_

"Anne, there's more to it than that, I mean, uh-"

"Makoto, I don't want to see you sad." Anne said, grabbing Makoto's hand. Makoto looked at the hand, and several thoughts passed through her head before Anne continued. "I don't want to see any of my friends crushed like I've seen before. We all deserve to be happy after what we've gone through."

"I...you're...not wrong." Makoto hesitantly replied.

Makoto thought about how much she enjoyed being with Ren. How much he helped, being at her side while she worked through the trouble with their classmate. How she found her sense of justice again with him. How comfortable she felt.

"Let's give it a shot! We're already living our lives so far from normal, would it really be that strange?" Anne added.

"You...are not wrong." Makoto said.

"And apparently Ren is a natural at taking things in stride anyway, he should be able to handle it fine!" Anne said. She flashed a confident smile.

"That m-m-might be a bit much, Anne. Even for him."

"Makoto...you can say no, that's fine you know."

Makoto scanned the table unconsciously, thinking it over. Did she want to say no. Yes, she did. But why? Would she feel jealous seeing Anne with Ren?

No. The realization came to her surprisingly easily. She wouldn't be especially put off by that, especially is she and him also…

_How would that even work!? How do you shar-_

Makoto's thoughts stopped at that word, unable to get over it.

"Makoto? Do you want to say no? It wasn't the most well thought out idea, I guess. It just sort of came to me, and I thought it sounded good. You're a lot smarter than me, so you're probably seeing something I'm not here. We can drop it ok?"

"No."

"No? Ok, that's fine, you're right-"

"No, that's not what I meant! I'm really not that smart at all, I wasn't...um. I don't see...Anne I'm just not sure, you know." Makoto hurriedly added, "Can-can I get a day to think about it?"

"Huh? Yeah, of course."

Makoto quickly stood up and reached trembling, nervous fingers into her purse. She put down a rough amount of coins that she didn't count.

"Thanks for talking with me Anne, I'll t-t-talk to you soon, ok? I'll send you a message and, uh, yeah. Bye!" Makoto sped through her words, before turning and walking out.

"Oh, ok. See ya later." she heard behind herself.

As Makoto walked back home at a very quick pace, her heart pounded.

_What just happened? _

Among all the confusion, one thing was for certain. Makoto probably wouldn't be able to fall asleep easily tonight.


End file.
